


Shoulder the Burden

by agenthaywood



Series: Someday You'll Understand [11]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, before march 3rd, skye has to hold the rifle again, so prepare for some quick summaries in later parts, we're moving into a more canon compliant area
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 04:19:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3313670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agenthaywood/pseuds/agenthaywood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Specialists are tasked with finding Ward after he escaped. Skye gets some news. Coulson and May have to make contingencies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shoulder the Burden

**Author's Note:**

> So we're moving into a more canon compliant area. I've gotten feedback from a couple of people who voted for moving in this direction and I've been wanting to get to the point of writing Skye with her powers and I would like to get to that point before March 3rd, because I can assure you, I will probably be going in a different direction.

Shoulder the Burden

 

Skye first became of a pounding in her head. The lights certainly weren’t helping when they started burning into her retinas. She squinted her eyes trying to prevent the ever present luminescent light from pouring into her sight.

 

The pillow under her head was what she became aware of next. The soft cotton was easy on the horrible symphony occurring inside her skull.

 

Skye’s throat was dry and her stomach was in knots. The scotch having worn off forced her mind to be more aware of her pain than she wanted.

 

“Good morning,” The greeting made her wince. The noise vibrated against her already jarred brain making a fresh wave of nausea flow through Skye.

 

Skye lifted her head from the pillow ignoring the throbbing in her head. She saw Coulson sitting in the chair by the wall across from her bed. He wore a grim expression in accordance to his normal black suit and tie.

 

“What happened?” Skye mumbled trying her hardest to keep whatever was in her stomach _in_ her stomach.

 

“Well, I saw the new episode of Super Nanny last night; May did her Tai Chi; Simmons, Fitz, and Mack worked on the inventory disposing of old components that held no use anymore; Bobbi and Hunter probably defiled another one of my SUV’s; oh, and you got drunk of your ass and passed out in a storm drain.” Coulson rattled off in a tone that made Skye question whether or not he was pissed at her or laughing at her situation.

 

The pieces were foggy in Skye’s mind but she could remember the moment Ward found her in the pipe. Tears were threatening to cloud her vision but Skye pushed them back.

 

Not in front of Coulson; _never_ in front of Coulson. Not anymore.

 

Skye bolted from her room, ignoring the throbbing in her head and the raging burning in her throat.

 

She yelled at Ward. She told Ward to go away. He couldn’t go away. That just can’t happen.

 

His room was empty. His bracelet laid on the desk connected to a tablet.

 

He was gone. Because of her.

 

It was Skye’s fault.

 

She expected the tears to come back full force but they didn’t. Maybe it was the shock? Maybe whatever lust-filled desire Skye had for him was gone and she didn’t need him anymore?

 

If that was the case, than why did she feel like there was a gaping hole in her chest?

 

Coulson caught up to her taking measured strides. He wasn’t going to intrude on her space but he didn’t have time for this. There was work that needed to be done whether he liked it or not.

 

“Skye,” He tried to catch her attention. Skye’s face held no emotion and her eyes were vacant like she was looking somewhere else.

 

“Skye,” he tried again; still no response.

 

_He’s gone,_ Skye’s mind kept repeating hoping that if she thought about it enough she would just wake up from whatever hellish dream this was.

 

She didn’t.

 

Coulson placed a hand on her shoulder in an effort to console her. He didn’t like Ward or the situation Skye put herself in with him, but she needed someone around who understood and for better or worse that was Ward.

 

Skye shrugged his hand off and walked back to her bunk. She couldn’t cry about it but that didn’t mean she needed Coulson’s mock attempt at sympathy.

 

\--

 

A shower and change of clothes later and Skye found herself in the kitchen making some semblance of a breakfast before she started monitor duty.

 

It was always her turn to watch the monitors. Koenig didn’t know what he was looking for, not in Skye’s eyes.

 

\--

 

On her way to the conference room Skye overheard hushed talking coming from Coulson’s office. She knew better than to try to listen in, she wasn’t supposed to know everything anymore, it just wasn’t practical, but a name made her drop all pretense of following the rules.

 

 

“What are we going to do about this?” May asked in an annoyed tone. Of course she’d be annoyed, Ward was her plant. Something that the two of them were using to keep an eye on Skye.

 

“For now, hunt him down. Try to keep the panic level low unless he proves to be a danger. Past that, get him isolated and put a bullet in his head.” Coulson ordered.

 

“Yes, Sir. Who do I take with me?” May asked.

 

“All of the Specialists. He’s too good to send a small party. Take Skye with you but keep an eye on her. This has to be messing with her head.” Coulson laid out.

 

Skye heard May’s boots click on the wood floor in Coulson’s office and bated a hasty retreat into the conference room.

 

\--

 

Skye was able to get a few minutes of work done sorting through the useless feeds from the NSA satellites she hacked into a few months back and was now looking through the feeds of established HYDRA AO’s.

 

Skye was so engrossed in the feed, her attempt to _not_ think about Ward, that she didn’t hear May walk in and place a mug of coffee on a coaster next to her.

 

Skye jumped a little when she heard the cup clink against the ceramic of the coaster. She looked at May who just raised an eyebrow at her.

 

Skye had never gotten over being easily startled when she was working on something, a flaw May just hadn’t been able to work out of her yet.

 

“Thanks,” Skye smiled sweetly at her SO for the hot beverage. Coffee was a weakness Skye had since she was a teenager.

 

“How’re you holding up?” May asked visually appraising Skye. No tear tracks, her eyes weren’t redder than normal, no muddled clothing suggesting Skye had been curled into herself.

 

Visually no signs of stress.

 

“I’m fine,” Skye lied easily. She’d done it enough in her life to get away with it. Truth was she didn’t know how she was holding up. Ward leaving _should_ do something to her.

 

Anger, sadness, grief, guilt, instead she just felt numb. Was she really that damaged?

 

May let the lie pass and didn’t press the issue further. Instead she turned her attention to the big monitor on the wall and watched the footage of the AO’s move in and out of focus depending on what the satellites’ were seeing.

 

“Anything of interest today?” May asked, if Skye was going to pretend that it was business as usual the least May thought she could do was play along.

 

“Nothing yet, Ma’am.” Skye replied automatically.

 

“Well Coulson has a briefing scheduled in twenty, so I’d clean this up and get the others.” May said before she walked off.

 

Skye nodded and continued to be the obedient little soldier she was and cleaned up her displays before shutting her laptop down.

 

\--

 

May was giving everyone their assignments but Skye wasn’t listening. She couldn’t.

 

They were going after Ward. That was a mission Skye knew could only end in blood.

 

The question was, was it going to be Ward’s blood or theirs?

 

\--

 

Once Skye, Bobbi, May, and Trip were on the jet and headed for Ward’s location, Massachusetts of all places, Skye felt the familiar weight of guns in her hands.

 

To think a short time ago holding a loaded .45 would have scared the shit out of her. Now, it felt as natural as breathing. The sniper rifle laid in pieces in the duffel bag at her feet, ready for her to provide over-watch if necessary.

 

The going plan was for Trip to case out the bus station while May and Bobbi waited outside to provide backup if necessary. Skye was going to be sitting in a van that she had to steal while they wait and handle exfil.

 

Skye knew what it really was though. It was their way of making sure she had no contact with Ward. She couldn’t be trusted around him with what they did while he was on a work-release with S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

Normally Skye would have argued that she was fine and that her emotions weren’t going to be a hamper on the mission, but not this time. Ward had burrowed in too deep, much like he had on the BUS, except this time he managed to _build_ on what they already had and make his spot in her heart that much larger.

 

Skye looked around the jet. Bobbi and May were in the cockpit talking strategies while Trip and Hunter organized the guns and ammo for the mission. They all left Skye in the corner of the jet. Probably their way of giving her space in case she needed it.

 

She didn’t.

 

She needed someone to keep her on the ground during missions like these, but that person is now the target.

 

Skye released a pent up breath and laid her head back against the metal headboard of the jet’s seat. It wasn’t a comfortable means of transportation but the jet was fast, faster than the BUS and that was what they needed right now.

 

Before Skye could stop herself she got to thinking about the things she said to Ward the night he left. It should be called “The Night Skye Decided to get drunk and lose her Inhibitions” but that didn’t fit as nicely as “Ex-Agent Grant Ward Escaped Custody” on the mission heading.

 

It always came back to the paperwork.

 

\--

 

//18 hours prior to briefing//

 

Stealing a car was child’s play. It was child’s play when he was fifteen and it was the same now at 31. Just lower the hangar from the closet in his bunk, pop the lock, and thread the wires until the ignition roars.

 

Any car Ward stole _had_ to have a roaring engine. Anything else just wouldn’t do. The old Dodge had just that, and decent leather seats.

 

 

Ward found the car a few miles after hiking from the PLAYGROUND. It wasn’t knee deep in a city but it wasn’t as far out as PROVIDENCE. The nearest town was only 10 miles.

 

Ward put the radio on some news station, he wanted to hear what he’d missed out on while he was in his cell.

 

Apparently nothing of major interest had happened in the world pardon HYDRA’s uprising and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s outlawing. The newscasters were scrambling for information regarding the current whereabouts of the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Ward felt that bitter part of him want to call them and give them Coulson’s address.

 

It wasn’t like he owed Coulson anything, but he couldn’t do that to Skye.

 

Skye needed something more concrete than S.H.I.E.L.D. and it was important that Ward figure out some way to provide that for her.

 

He had to find her father. The man Raina told him about all those months.

 

It was a simple plan. Find a way into HYDRA’s good graces and use their significantly-better-than-S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resources to find the man.

 

That was to say, after he had dealt with some personal business.

 

\--

 

//PRESENT TIME//

 

Stealing a van wasn’t hard. It’s not like she paid for the one she was driving before S.H.I.E.L.D. found her anyway. Hotwiring was a lot like coding, find the combination that worked. In this case it was threading the right wires until the engine started.

 

Skye drove the van to an alley and parked.

 

She waited.

 

\--

 

Ward walked into the bus station. He needed his go-bag if he was going to make it anywhere. He rolled the combination into the lock with practiced ease.

 

It wasn’t the first time he had to grab and run.

 

He pulled the bag out and did a quick check of the contents; money, ID’s, a pistol with a couple of spare magazines, and a change of clothes.

 

Just what the doctor ordered.

 

\--

 

Ward saw Trip as soon as he walked in the door. The man was good, but he let one thing shine through when he shouldn’t.

 

His intentions.

 

Ward knew S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to be out for blood when he left. It’s why he didn’t wait until morning or ship out while on a mission. It just wasn’t worth the possible bullet in his head.

 

Ward scratched his beard and made it obvious to any trained agent that he had a bomb strapped to his chest. The C-4 wasn’t wired correctly, it was just a prop.

 

He wasn’t interested in blowing up a bus station. That’s not to say he couldn’t be persuaded if given the right incentive.

 

Threatening him wasn’t it.

 

\--

 

Skye was getting bored. No, scratch that. She was _beyond_ bored.

 

Normally she had a tablet or a laptop in front of her where she could write code or at least do _something_ other than sit in a van and wait.

 

Trip walked out of the bus station.

 

Trip walked out of the bus station alone.

 

\--

 

May had two screens in front of her in the Quinjet. The cockpit’s windshield had holographic overlay sensors embedded in the glass. It allowed the windshield to function as an optional monitor for times when the jet was on the ground.

 

The screen to her left had the feeds from the security cameras in the bus station. The screen on the right, however, had the feed that held May’s attention hostage.

 

Bobbi managed to tap into the security camera outside a convenience store across the street from the alley that Skye was sitting in. May had it zoomed in completely on the van and found herself fixated on the blank look Skye made embellish her face.

 

May didn’t know how Skye was handling the situation. Ward was a plant in her life since he was left out of the cage. Now, he was running from S.H.I.E.L.D. and trying to accomplish God knows what.

 

Maybe she and Coulson shouldn’t have let Ward get so close. He was a variable in the equation. S.H.I.E.L.D. made use of him while they had him. It wasn’t exactly a smart idea to let someone like him _not_ run a few operations, he was up there with Romanoff for a reason.

 

Letting him get close to Skye again was the thing that should’ve been monitored more than the missions. Skye wasn’t in the best place for that kind of arrangement. She needed stability and May had been trying to instill it with training but it wasn’t working.

 

Coulson would’ve handled it better if he had the time. Director status was killing the relationship between him and Skye. Her being a field agent now wasn’t helping the situation either though.

 

The entire situation was fucked up, end of story.

 

\--

 

Ward ditched the car. He needed something more hidden, congested. A way to hide himself from the people.

 

Ward went to the directory in the bus station, making sure to keep Trip in his peripheral and able to see what Ward was doing. There was another bus station five miles east by a strip mall.

 

 

\--

 

Everyone was quiet around Skye. She sat in the back of the jet while Trip hung around near the cockpit with Bobbi and May.

 

They had to fly back to base for a quick pick up with Hunter. They needed an extra body to cover the entire station.

 

May had Skye hack into the security cameras around the bus station to check for Ward. He hadn’t shown up yet but May told Skye to keep the feeds open in case something changed.

 

Bobbi pulled up the bus schedule and worked with Trip to figure out the most likely route Ward was trying to get on.

 

Skye kept her seat near the back. Hunter had sat down across from her and was checking his gun.

 

Skye looked at the cowboy hat in the seat next to him. She had to bite back a laugh at the idea of the Brit wearing it.

 

“How are you holding up?” Hunter asked steadily. He wasn’t going to push more than he needed to.

 

“I’m fine.” Skye replied automatically. It wasn’t necessary to lie to everyone but instinct wasn’t something that could be turned off very easily.

 

“You sure about that? It’s not like the two weren’t close.” Hunter pointed out.

 

“Well how would _you_ be if Bobbi ran out on you because of a drunken mistake?” Skye bit out under her breath. She knew it was a low blow but if he wasn’t going to back off then Skye wasn’t going to hold back.

 

“I’d get drunk again.” Hunter replied deadpanned.

 

“Well I guess that’s where we differ.” Skye mumbled.

 

“You know, most drunken confessions are laced with a fair amount of truth. You might have been holding back some anger.” Hunter said.

 

“I’ve been holding back a lot of things.” Skye spoke darkly. There was more simmering under her skin other than anger.

 

\--

 

The bus station was crowded. Very crowded. People were walking through the building through the doors and the buses were pulling in to drop off and receive new passengers.

 

Ward’s eyes were caught by the long-legged woman sitting on the bench reading a book. She was the agent that constantly argued with the British guy. If Ward hadn’t already known he was going to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. at some point, then he might’ve bothered to learn their names.

 

Next time.

 

Maybe if he ever went back to S.H.I.E.L.D. he’d teach them how to _not_ be so obvious.

 

 

\--

 

The little boy and his mother were a welcome distraction. New people that he didn’t have to put a bullet in their heads.

 

The agent was on the bus with him. Not surprising.

 

“Next time, change page numbers. 117’s a dead giveaway.” Ward chastised with his usual knowing demeanor as he sat next to the woman.

 

“Thanks for the tip.” Bobbi replied setting the book in her lap.

 

“This a capture or kill order?” Ward asked letting the dead-man switch in his right hand show.

 

The button was pressed.

 

“I guess it’s neither if you’re wired.” Bobbi relented.

 

“Well, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s never been above covering up a little explosion.” A small smile broke out on Ward’s bearded face.

 

“Yeah well, it was an easier time.” Bobbi spoke with fondness of the memory of an organization that would have already put Ward down three times over.

 

“Tell Skye I said it’s OK. It’s been the plan from the beginning. Driver, I apologize, but it appears I’m on the wrong bus!” Ward stood and slung his pack over his shoulder lazily.

 

Bobbi watched him leave and get on the next bus. A smirk made its way across her features.

 

Bobbi pressed her finger to her ear piece. “May, you were right, he _is_ good. Hunter, he’s coming to you.”

 

\--

 

Hunter tipped his cowboy hat up when he saw Ward get on the bus before letting the tip fall back down to shield his face.

 

“Copy that darling, happy to oblige.” He spoke in a practiced southern accent.

 

\--

 

Skye wasn’t allowed an earpiece. May didn’t want her to hear anything related to Ward. A sentiment that made a little bit of warmth blossom in Skye’s chest.

 

Someone actually cared.

 

Skye waited patiently in her seat to hear something but nothing came. Bobbi walked up to the jet and made for the copilot’s seat without as much as a word to Skye.

 

Skye didn’t miss the sympathy in her gaze. Bobbi hid it quickly but Skye still saw it. Something happened that they weren’t telling her.

 

Bobbi and May talked in hushed tones that Skye couldn’t bring herself to listen in on. Whatever it was they were saying, she wasn’t meant and Skye wasn’t going to break that rule.

 

\--

 

Ward saw him as soon as he walked in on the bus. The hat was a nice trick but the width of his shoulders were average. Contrary to popular belief the average build of a man wasn’t exactly a popular build in the U.S. It was in England though.

 

Ward would give him a B for effort.

 

The bus ride was slow. They always were. It was why Ward usually hotwired cars and stomped the gas when he had to drive, but he needed to keep S.H.I.E.L.D. in his peripheral.

 

Next stop Massachusetts.

 

\--

 

May listened to what Bobbi was saying. The message Ward had for Skye served to fill some holes in Ward’s vanishing act. Maybe she and Skye needed to talk when they got back to base.

 

Bobbi sat silently in the copilot seat but May knew silent fuming when she saw it. Ward got one up on her. Not surprising, Ward was top grade before S.H.I.E.L.D. fell. Still, nothing to fume over.

 

May’s head shot up to the screen above her head when Lance sent a message.

 

//INCOMING MESSAGE//

 

//BUS HEADED TO MASSACHUSETTS. TARGET HAS NOT MADE A MOVE. DEADMAN SWITCH STILL PRESSED. PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME GO TO MASSACHUSETTS.//

 

May smirked and Bobbi let out a small laugh. No sound came from Skye in the back of the jet. May brought up the touchpad on the screen.

 

//OUTGOING MESSAGE//

 

//GET OVER IT HUNTER. DON’T LOSE SIGHT OF HIM. WE ARE ON OUR WAY.//

 

May started the engines and initiated the takeoff sequences. Skye felt the familiar drop in her stomach when the jet started lifting from the ground.

 

“Skye!” May called from the cockpit. Skye’s head shot up.

 

“Yes, Ma’am!” Skye called stone-faced.

 

“Get the sniper kit ready. You’re on over-watch.” May instructed.

 

“Copy that!” Skye answered as she unzipped the duffel and started connecting the pieces of the rifle together before loading the rounds into the chamber.

 

Skye’s heartrate did not increase.

 

\--

 

The bar was the same as Ward left it. The musty seats and darkened walls gave Ward a sense of familiarity that sent a mixture of relief and dread down his spine.

 

Hunter had not followed him inside the bar. Ward saw him in a sedan following the cab Ward took. Of course the sedan made a loop around the bar before parking on the other side of the street.

 

“A bullet in the head.” Ward ordered from the bartender. The large, bald man dropped some ice in a glass and filled it with some scotch from under the bar.

 

Ward took the glass with a somber expression. This wasn’t the place that would give people the best of smiles, and there was a reason for it.

 

“Didn’t expect to see you back here.” The bartender spoke with ease. Ward took a sip of his drink while he mulled over a response.

 

“Just waiting for the right time. Can I use your phone?” Ward spoke briskly as though he were speaking to an old friend. In a sense he was. Doug was the same barkeeper Ward and Garrett would come see when they were scheduled to meet someone from HYDRA.

 

They also used Doug to schedule their own meetings with the higher ups.

 

Doug handed Ward the phone. He dialed in a number he knew by heart.

 

Three rings later someone picked up. “Hail HYDRA.” Ward said automatically into the phone.

 

“Who is this?” The man on the other end spoke briskly with an accent.

 

“Grant Ward. I want a meeting. 85023 NE Westchester Str. Worcester, Massachusetts.” Ward turned the phone off and gave it back to Doug.

 

“Getting back in the game?” Doug asked friendly as he topped off Ward’s drink.

 

“Something like that.” Ward replied ominously before taking a seat in a booth.

 

\--

 

Skye never thought the weight of a rifle would feel so natural against her shoulder in so short a time. The stock pressed into her skin with something akin to a natural curve. Skye pressed her eye against the scope to test the clarity in the clouds outside the windshield of the cockpit.

 

Hunter was supposed to call in with a location. Bobbi and May would be with him on the perimeter while Skye kept an eye on the area with the rifle. If anyone got too curious, well, there was a reason the rifle held more than one round.

 

Hopefully Skye wouldn’t need it.

 

\--

 

Hunter had never been more bored in his life. That was saying something considering the SAS once had him spend 72 hours in the snow with nothing but a few MRE’s and his rifle.

 

Ward hadn’t left the bar and Hunter hoped he was getting good and drunk. A twinge of pity went through him. Ward’s story wasn’t something you heard every day, even in the spy business.

 

In all honesty, Hunter didn’t see the point in hunting Ward down. Hunter’s met a few like him, the tired ones. The ones that just wanted out of the game. The only problem was that there was only one way out: death.

 

Hunter flipped the safety off his gun before hiding it under his jacket again. If he wanted out then Hunter wouldn’t deny him that.

 

\--

 

Ward saw the man in the suit walk through the front door of the bar while he was nursing his third drink. Ward didn’t want to have too much but damn Doug if he didn’t know how to make a good scotch.

 

“Grant Ward. I heard you were dead.” The man’s accent gave his words a certain zest that Ward thought if he were a girl, maybe this man would be attractive.

 

“Not dead. Waiting.” Ward replied sternly. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk.

 

“Garrett spoke highly of you. What do you need from us?” The man spoke.

 

“I know with Strucker overseas someone has to be running the operation here. I want a meeting with him.” Ward kept his words concise and clear. He didn’t want questions being thrown at him.

 

“Mr. Whitehall is a busy man. It would take something very compelling to get a face to face.” The man said.

 

“What if I could give him Coulson?” Ward leaned on his forearms.

 

The man perked up at the mention of Coulson. Ward didn’t let his smirk break through no matter how much he wanted it to.

 

\--

 

“What’s the situation in there?” May asked while Hunter checked the ammo in his pistol before chambering a round.

 

“Bakshi walked inside and hasn’t walked out. They’re talking about something.” Hunter replied.

 

“Skye I want you on the roof on that building there.” May pointed to an office building across the street from the bar. “If you see Ward put a bullet in his head.”

 

“Copy that.” Skye replied automatically and started trekking over to the fire escape on the side of the building to begin her climb with her rifle slung around her shoulder.

 

“Are we really going to make her take the shot?” Bobbi asked flipping the safety off of her gun.

 

“We’re going to try to not let it come to that but if worst comes to worst she’ll do as she’s told.” May spoke sternly. Despite the foot of height between them Bobbi still feared the older woman.

 

\--

 

Skye looked through the scope on her rifle as soon as she laid down on the roof of the building. The windows were tinted and impossible to see through.

 

Skye took a calming breath and flipped the safety off of her rifle.

 

\--

 

Hunter kicked in the door and Bobbi brushed past him checking his 9 o’clock. What she saw in place of a hostile was something that she never thought she’d see.

 

All the HYDRA agents in the building were dead. Bakshi remained in one piece bound and gagged in the corner. On his gag was were the words “FOR COULSON.”

 

May brushed past Bobbi and leaned down to check Bakshi for any weapons. When she found none May put her finger to her earpiece.

 

“Skye come down here. Ward’s gone.” She spoke bristly.

 

\--

 

Skye climbed down the ladder on the side of the building with her rifle slung over her shoulder. The building blocked the view of the bar.

 

“Hey, Skye.” A familiar voice rang through Skye’s ears. She swung around and raised her pistol to him in a practiced motion. The rifle clanged against Skye’s shoulder blade.

 

“Ward,” Skye swallowed a sudden lump in her throat.

 

“How’s your head?” Ward asked leaning against the brick wall behind him.

 

“The throbbing died down.” Skye replied, her aim wavering.

 

Ward walked up to her and curled his finger around the barrel of the gun. He pushed the barrel down until Skye’s iron grip weakened enough that he could take the gun from her hands and toss it to the side.

 

“Why are you doing this?” Skye asked avoiding his gaze. She knew what would happen if she looked at him.

 

“Skye look at me.” Ward hooked his finger under her chin and forced Skye’s eyes to take him in.

 

The thing Skye had been trying to hold in since this morning breaks through her barriers, the tears.

 

“There’s something you need to know.” Ward brushed the tears away from her face with the pad of his thumb.

 

“I didn’t mean what I-“

 

“Your father is alive. I’m looking for him.” Ward cut her off.

 

Skye stood there with Ward’s hands on her face and her mouth agape.

 

“No, no, my parents are dead. They died in China when I was a baby.” Skye rambled as she tried to shake herself from Ward’s grip.

 

“No they weren’t. I promise I’ll explain more later, but I have to go.” Ward tucked a strand of hair behind Skye’s hair and pulled her to him. He pressed a short kiss to her lips but Skye wouldn’t let go. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled Ward flushed against her.

 

Ward walked her toward the brick wall and continued the sensual assault on her mouth. He pulled away.

 

Ward wanted to continue, but he had work to do. He couldn’t be distracted.

 

Skye’s chest was heaving and the tears were insistent. She didn’t want him to leave but she couldn’t bear Coulson’s disappointment if she let him go.

 

Skye drew her hand to her backside. She was going to grab the ICER May always had her keep in the spare holster.

 

It was gone.

 

Skye’s eyes never left Ward’s, completely encapsulated by his gaze. The sound of a round being chambered in a gun broke Skye from her trance long enough to see her ICER in Ward’s hand aimed at her torso.

 

“I’m sorry, but you know they won’t believe you if I don’t do something. Be careful out there, Skye.” Ward apologized before Skye felt the familiar sting of the ICER round break her skin before darkness engulfed her.

 

Ward caught her before she could fall and laid Skye down gently on the ground. He fluffed her cowl to protect her head from the hard concrete.

 

Ward grabbed the .45 he tossed on the ground and slid it into the waistband of his jeans along with the ICER. Ward didn’t think he would use the ICER much but it never hurt to have one. The situation could always change.

 

\--

 

May waited five minutes for Skye to walk through the door. When she didn’t, May started getting anxious. It never showed in her body language but Hunter and Bobbi weren’t idiots. They knew what it meant when an agent wasn’t going to walk through the door in a timely manner.

 

Something happened.

 

“Hunter, stay here, if Bakshi tries moving, shoot him.” May ordered.

 

May walked out of the bar and looked through the streets for anything out of the ordinary. The car Hunter stole to follow Ward was gone. Skye wasn’t checking in.

 

Ward found Skye.

 

May ran to the other side of the building with Bobbi in tow. May saw Skye laying peacefully on the ground against the wall of the building.

 

May leaned down and checked Skye’s pulse. She was breathing, nothing wrong. May saw the blue residue on Skye’s jacket and figured she was overpowered by Ward and ICEd.

 

May brushed some hair out of Skye’s face. If May hadn’t found the ICER residue, she might’ve thought that Skye was just taking a nap. The girl was always tired. It made May wonder if maybe Skye was carving stuff like Coulson, just never being caught.

 

“Grab her. We need to get back to the base.” May ordered Bobbi who stooped down and gently slung Skye over her shoulder.

 

\--

 

Skye stirred from her restless sleep when the incessant thumping noise didn’t stop. Skye raised her head from the soft pillow underneath and shifted to a sitting position.

 

Skye’s hand lifted to her abdomen to feel the sore spot that was left after Ward shot her with the ICER. Skye felt her eyes sting as her fingers skated across the sore muscles and she remembered the context with which Ward shot her.

 

Her father was alive. Ward _knew_ her father was alive and he waited until _now_ to tell her. Skye felt the anger well within her but she also felt the sadness bloom in her chest.

 

It was her fault Ward even left. Maybe if she hadn’t gotten drunk off her ass Ward might’ve told her that her father was alive earlier. He might’ve even asked her to go with him.

 

Skye sat up straighter despite her soreness when Coulson walked into the room. It was involuntary. The boss walks in the soldier stands to attention.

 

It was nothing.

 

The surprise of the day came when Coulson hugged her. The tears Skye worked so hard to keep at bay fell for the second time that day.

 

Muddled apologies and promises of “I’ll do better” fell out of Skye’s mouth without her knowledge. Coulson didn’t react. He just held her and let the pain of her tears stain his jacket.

 

\--

 

//4 HOURS BEFORE SKYE WOKE UP//

 

May was adjusting the dials on the Quinjet when the communication came in. It was Simmons calling to tell them that Coulson went into the memory machine. When her anger wore off, May asked Simmons if anything useful came of it.

 

The idea of a city was an out there thought but May’s seen weirder in her life.

 

The idea of a city may actually not be that out there. May looked in a rearview mirror to check on Skye. She was propped in a chair with Bobbi holding her steady while Hunter kept Bakshi still.

 

\--

 

Skye extricated herself from Coulson’s embrace when she felt the tears stem their flow. She wiped her eyes furiously trying to remove whatever tears may remain. Sitting back on the hospital bed, Skye looked around the room.

 

“Who interrogated Quinn while we were gone?” Skye asked lowly. Work always served to keep her own thoughts at bay.

 

“Mack did. Once we got what we needed we turned him over to the government. What happens next is up to Talbot.” Coulson spoke softly trying to placate her.

 

“What now?” Skye asked searching Coulson’s eyes for the answer.

 

“Now, if you’re up to it, we need to know what’s on Bakshi’s phone.” Coulson gave her an out. If Skye wasn’t up to it then she wasn’t up to it and Coulson wasn’t going to fight her on it.

 

“OK. I’ll get started in an hour. I’m going to grab a shower first.” Skye excused herself and left the medical ward.

 

\--

 

Skye flipped tapped at the screen of Bakshi’s phone a few times before sitting down with her coffee and laptop to begin the process of removing the firewalls from the device.

 

That’s when it rung.

 

“Hail HYDRA,” Skye answered in her best secretary voice.

 

“Hey Skye,” Ward replied on the other end.

 

“Ward?” Skye hated the twinge of hope she felt blossom in her chest at hearing his voice again.

 

“Just checking in. I was wanting to make sure that the ICER didn’t hurt you too bad.” Ward spoke softly, giving Skye time to hang up if she wanted.

 

“Why don’t you come over and see for yourself?” Skye didn’t meant to make the comment sound sexual but it did.

 

“Tempting, but I have something I need to do first.” Ward answered before hanging up.

 

\--

 

Ward dropped the phone in the duffel bag. He zipped it up before sitting down on the bed and pulling a newspaper out from the nightstand.

 

Senator Christian Ward was going to be away for two weeks at the Ward estate. Something about business with the family. Ward knew what it really was. Christian was going to meet his mistress.

 

Like father like son.

 

\--

 

“Do we tell her?” May asked swirling the amber liquid in her glass around.

 

“She’s going to find out one way or another. I think it’d be best coming from us rather than seeing it herself.” Coulson reasoned.

 

“What if she doesn’t understand what it means?” May took a tentative sip of her drink.

 

“She will. You and I both know that.” Coulson assured.

 

“Her father can’t come anywhere near her.” May ruled.

 

“I agree, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t try.” Coulson relented.

 

“What about Ward?” May asked.

 

“If he resurfaces we’ll deal with him. Until then, he’s not really the priority.” Coulson knocked back the rest of his drink.

 

“So we’re _really_ going after an alien city?” May asked in disbelief.

 

“It seems that way.” Coulson replied.

 

“Have there been any more urges since finding this out?” May searched his eyes for the wild gleam that seemed to have vanished.

 

“No, it was like a homing beacon. With no way to get there it was driving everyone with the serum crazy.” Coulson said with a hint of a smile.

 

“Everyone except Skye.” May reminded him.

 

“We’ll need to look into that. Has she found the monitors?” Coulson asked.

 

“She’s been a little busy to be curious.” May assured.

 

“Good. If this turns into something we can’t control then we need to have a fall back.” Coulson’s somber expression returned.

 

“You don’t mean-“

 

“If Skye’s connected to this in a bad way, then we need to think the safety of the majority before our personal feelings. Can I trust you to do that?” Coulson checked.

 

“Yes, Sir.” May answered.


End file.
